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New Poetry for Kids August 2026 |
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Thank You, School
by Louise Borden
Through a series of poems, children thank each person, from bus drivers to teachers, who helps make their school day possible.
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Thank You, Sun
by Douglas Florian
Celebrates the sun, earth, moon, and many more natural marvels.
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The Whale's Tale and the Otter's Side of the Story
by Kate Messner
Readers will laugh aloud at the silly antics of a pair of opinionated sea mammals in a tale presenting one side of a debate when read front-to-back and the other side when read back-to-front, slyly revealing the way identical facts can be used to support opposite positions. A boastful whale and a showboating otter compete in a battle of words to prove that each is the greatest animal ever to swim the seas. Read one way, the first-person text brags about whales' superiority; read the other way, it extols how much better otters are. Using true information about the two marine species to make both arguments, Kate Messner's adroit text and Brian Biggs's giggle-worthy artwork brilliantly illustrate how the same words can be used to express contradictory opinions when speakers have a one-sided view of the world.
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Goldfinches
by Mary Oliver
Have you heard them singing in the wind, above the final fields? Have you ever been so happy in your life? Mary Oliver, winner of the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, is one of America's most beloved poets. Introducing her unforgettable words to children for the very first time, her poem "Goldfinches" joyfully observes the power of the natural world as only Mary Oliver can. Illuminated by the exquisite mixed-media artwork of Caldecott Honoree Melissa Sweet, Goldfinches fills the reader with wonder for the beauty around them and gratitude for the ability to bear witness to it.
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Barbed Wire Between Us
by Mia Wenjen
A breathtaking reverso poem about two girls--separated by barbed wire, connected across generations. In Barbed Wire Between Us, a single poem holds two lives, separated by decades yet bound by the same stretch of barbed wire. Read forward, a Japanese American girl is uprooted and sent to an incarceration camp during World War II, her world reduced to dust, distance, and longing. Read in reverse, and the poem transforms: now a Latina girl stands in that same place, detained generations later, her story echoing across time. With language as spare as it is powerful, Mia Wenjen shapes a reverso poem that reveals how history can fold in on itself--how loss, resilience, and hope repeat in new forms. Violeta Encarnación's evocative artwork deepens the emotional landscape, illuminating both the quiet tenderness and the stark realities of life behind the wire. Together, they create a book that reads like a mirror held up to the past--and the present. A luminous and unflinching meditation on memory, injustice, and the fragile promise of belonging, Barbed Wire Between Us lingers long after the final line--asking not only what happened, but what we choose to see, and what we dare to change.
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Beginning Readers Nonfiction
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At the Edge: Curious Creatures of Planet Earth
by David Elliott
Poet David Elliott brings us to the edge of the animal world to explore the weirdest and rarest creatures on the planet. Why does the axolotl salamander always seem to be smiling? Is it true that the wild goat known as a markhor is excellent at parkour? What happens when the peacock spider's dance, complete with its rumble-rumps, doesn't please the object of its affection? Providing a peek at everything from scaly pangolins to duck-billed platypuses, from the lemur known as an aye-aye to the perpetually grumpy (and adorable) black rain frog, David Elliott's poetic vignettes deliver a witty and informative take on some of the world's oddest animals. Brought to life in striking illustrations by collage artist Clover Robin, this roundup of unique creatures will delight animal lovers of all stripes.
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Fourteen Ways of Looking at Jellyfish
by Carole Boston Weatherford
With dozens of major awards between them, a revered poet and a versatile artist pool their mastery to sing the praises of an undersea wonder. A graceful bundle of nerves three times as ancient as the dinosaurs, the jellyfish is no fish but a spineless invertebrate without brain, heart, blood, or bones. Inside glass tanks in crowded aquariums, jellies hold visitors rapt with their slow-motion water ballet. Most of the world's nearly four thousand species emit an otherworldly light, glowing red, yellow, violet, or blue in the underwater dark. Fifty species boast deadly venom, including pink meanies with boa-like tentacles, box jellies with two-dozen eyes apiece, and deadliest of all, cubozoans the size of human thumbnails. Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Carole Boston Weatherford brings poetry and playfulness to natural science as she shares her fascination with a singular creature. Fourteen wildly divergent poems--by turns dramatic and serene--pulse with life. From spreads of shimmering bioluminescence to graphic panels, stylish artwork blends poetry with science and fact with folklore and myth to form the ideal introduction to the immortal and mysterious jellyfish.
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If Pets Wrote Poems: A Parody Collection
by Susan Johnston Taylor
History meets poetry in this one-of-a-kind collection of verse written by the pets of famous historical figures. Award-winning picture book author Susan Johnston Taylor delivers another poetry collection that is as funny as it is unique. Each page combines a parody of a famous poem written by the pet of sixteen different famous literary figures like Edgar Allen Poe and Elizabeth Barrett Browning with facts about the pets themselves. It's the perfect combination to inspire curiosity about history and to encourage an early love of poetry.
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Time for Haiku: Four Seasons of Poems
by Josep Santaeulàlia
Celebrate the seasons with this delightful collection of 50 haiku that illuminate the wonders of the natural world and brief moments in time. Time for Haiku invites young readers on a poetic journey through the seasons. Arranged from fall to winter and then spring to summer, this charming collection of haiku captures the small, fleeting sensory wonders of the natural world: the hush of falling snow, the rhythm of ocean waves, the shimmer of sun on golden sand, and the sound of waves in a seashell. Each poem serves as a gentle bridge between language and science, making the traditional Japanese haiku form both accessible and enriching for elementary students. Luciano Lozano's Japanese art-inspired illustrations, with their minimalist brushstrokes and dynamic perspectives, bring each seasonal moment to life with warmth and whimsy. Back matter includes a brief history of haiku and a guide to writing them, encouraging young poets to create their own reflections on the world around them.
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Dear Acorn (Love, Oak): Letter Poems to Friends
by Joyce Sidman
Told through letters, these poems reveal the everyday conversations between 'big' and 'little' objects in our ecosystem, revealing how different perspectives also have common threads that connect each.
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The Secrets of the Jellies: Amazing Jellyfish and Their Surprising Talents
by Karen Jameson
A spectacular world of weird and wonderful jellyfish awaits! Engaging rhyming text will amaze young readers with awe-inspiring information about these beguiling sea creatures. They will soak up facts about jelly anatomy, behavior, habitats, and ecosystems as they get to know the moon jelly, lion's mane jellyfish, fried-egg jellyfish, flame jellyfish, and so many more in this aquarium exhibit in a book. Dive in and be dazzled!
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No Brain the Same: Neurodivergent Young Activists Shaping Our Future
by Book Author
Through powerful poems, this book honors neurodivergent youth activists transforming their communities and invites kids to act--continuing the spirit of No Voice Too Small and No World Too Big. Featuring Billie Eilish, Dara McAnulty, and Ly Xīnzhèn M. Zhangsūn Brown, these fourteen poems spotlight neurodivergent activists inspiring kids ages 5 to 9 to make change. These fourteen neurodivergent activists began their work when they were young and continue it now, changing systems, politics, policies, and more. The book features poems written by poets who have something in common with each activist. Fourteen poems by CooXooEii Black, Vanessa Brantley-Newton, e.E. Charlton-Trujillo, Liv Mammone, Lyn Miller-Lachmann, K. A. Reynolds, and others honor activists from all over the world and the United States. Additional text goes into detail about each activist's life and how readers can get involved.
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Whose Tree Is This?: Poems about the Mighty Oak and Its Companions
by Marilyn Singer
Whose tree is this? / Reaching high, spreading wide, / this oak, so gracious, so spacious, / giving gifts throughout the year. / Acorns for eating, tree crooks for nests, / leaves that shelter many guests. Explore an oak tree through poems written from the perspective of thirteen animals--including caterpillars, chickadees, orb weaver spiders, cicadas, katydids, big brown bats, screech owls, springtails, blue jays, squirrels, black bears, crows, and people--that rely on it for food and shelter. Readers will discover that the oak, a keystone species, belongs to all of the animals. Sidebars written in prose provide additional information about the ways each creature relies on oak trees as well as how these trees benefit the environment.
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This Is Not a Small Voice: Poems by Black Poets
by Traci N. Todd
A beautiful, bold collection of more than 100 dazzling poems by Black poets for the whole family to treasure. Discover classic favorites and new stars. This gorgeously illustrated children's anthology is the perfect introduction to poets such as Lucille Clifton, Langston Hughes, Benjamin Zephaniah, Gwendolyn Brooks, Maya Angelou, Amanda Gorman, Caleb Femi, and Joseph Coelho, and also features brand-new work by poets Nikki Grimes, Carole Boston Weatherford, and others. Lovingly compiled by award-winning picture book writer and editor Traci N. Todd, this collection touches on a wide range of themes--hope and struggle, joy and pride, home and food, music and family.
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Nature's Remarkable Partners: Wild Poems for Two Voices
by Leslie Bulion
These wild poems for two voices offer young readers an up-to-date peek at an intriguing array of symbiotic partnerships in nature. Most upper-elementary students are familiar with mutually beneficial partnerships in nature--butterflies and milkweed, for example, or clownfish and anemones. But award-winning science poetry author Leslie Bulion has delved into recent research on mutualism and found fresh examples of these relationships for young readers to investigate, including the egg-laying carrion beetle and its hitchhiking mite passengers, as well as the little goby fish that guards the pistol shrimp from predators in exchange for a safe haven. Reading aloud these clever verses for two voices will help young learners engage with and enjoy these marvels of nature, and notes in the back of the book shed more light on the diversity of poetic forms. In addition, brief science notes accompanying each featured partnership, and comprehensive back matter provides more opportunities for study. Robert Meganck's witty drawings add another layer of fun to this humorous gallery of perfect partners.
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The Dream Builder's Blueprint: Dr. King's Message to Young People
by Alice Faye Duncan
This riveting found poem for kids based on Martin Luther King Jr.'s Street Sweeper speech is creatively interpreted in this nonfiction picture book written by acclaimed author Alice Faye Duncan, accompanied by gorgeous artwork by award-winning illustrator E. B. Lewis. In a speech delivered in 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. provided his young audience with life lessons: You count. Black is beautiful. Achieve excellence. Make a better world. Believe in nonviolence. Keep going. Today, award-winning author Alice Faye Duncan reinterprets King's speech as a motivational erasure poem in The Dream Builder's Blueprint, accompanied by spirited and inspired art by Philadelphia-born illustrator E. B. Lewis. Highlighting principles of excellence, activism, and compassion that remain relevant and necessary today, this book has a universal message that's ideal for parents, librarians, and teachers looking for a book that distills Dr. King's principles to a level that kids can understand. Included in the book is an author's note that explains found poetry forms like the erasure poem and provides background information on the Civil Rights movement and Dr. King's inspiring speech at Philadelphia's Barratt Junior High School.
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Wisdom of the Woods: 40 Nature Poems Passed Down from Bear to Bear
by Rachel Piercey
Open this sumptuous treasury, which has been in Bear's family for generations. Discover 40 poems which conjure the everyday magic of Brown Bear Wood, from the beauty of a butterfly's life cycle to the hidden communications of tree roots in the soil. This pocket-size poetry book is perfect for young readers: Features 40 poems from acclaimed poet Rachel Piercey, written to be read aloud.
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Otherwise Known as Judy the Great: A Poetic Ode to Judy Blume
by Selina Alko
Beloved and trailblazing author Judy Blume comes to life in this poetic picture book about her childhood. Judy Blume is known for fearlessly discussing topics that were once considered taboo. As a young girl, Judy was not encouraged to share her feelings, so instead she invented stories as a way to understand the world around her. Growing up Jewish, during and in the aftermath of WWII, dramatically shaped Judy's childhood. Her younger years were full of fear. Judy processed her conflicted emotions by making up stories where she could control the conflict as she worked through challenging life scenarios. These stories became the subjects of the books she later published for children, tweens, teens, and adults including Are You There God? It's Me Margaret, Freckle Juice, and the Fudge series. This inspiring collection of poems celebrates the childhood years of Judy Blume, one of the most beloved American writers of all time.
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Relic Hamilton, Genie Hunter
by Joseph Coelho
Relic Hamilton is just your average twelve-year-old, living a quiet life with his grandfather above their old antique shop in Chinatown in London. Until, that is, the day he's polishing some mysterious brass lamps in the basement and something extraordinary happens. He feels spine-chillingly cold. Breathless. Scared. And there it is--a real live genie standing before him. But this is no kind, benevolent genie. This one is evil . . . and it feeds on hope. Ghostbusters meets Raiders of the Lost Ark meets Pokémon (with a genie twist) as award-winning author Joseph Coelho follows Relic to the heart of a fast-paced underground community of dedicated genie hunters. Led by the excitable Professor Latimer and the uber-cool Doctor Raphaela, they will travel together in their one-of-a-kind jet, the Aladdin, on a secret mission to chase down rogue genies before they wreak havoc on the world. Each chapter begins with poetry by the author, although most of the story is told in prose. Vividly and imaginatively written, with a humorous cast of cool characters, this first in a trilogy is brought to life in twenty black-and-white illustrations by Korean artist Hyun Song We.
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Spanish Juvenile Nonfiction
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